KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit traded easier against the United States dollar this morning amid stronger demand for the greenback, said dealers.
At 9.10am, the local note slipped to 4.2370/2410 versus the US dollar from 4.2330/2380 at Friday’s close.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said this week’s focus would be on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest global growth projection for 2022 and 2023.
“In an interview last week, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva indicated that the institution would be revising downward its global growth projection, saying that the war in Ukraine has severely affected commodity prices and inflation,” he said.
Afzanizam noted that demand for safe-haven assets such as the US dollar would remain prevalent as the market would be looking at China’s economic growth in 2022.
“China’s economic growth for the first quarter of 2022 will also be in focus with consensus estimates pegging the growth rate at 4.4% from the 4% in the preceding quarter.
“It looks like China will continue to grow at a sub-par rate as their zero-Covid-19 strategy is taking a toll on the economy. The US dollar/ringgit might range between RM4.23 and RM4.24 today,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1161/1195 from Friday’s 3.1198/1242 but declined versus the Japanese yen to 3.3486/3520 from 3.3465/3510.
The local unit increased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.5267/5320 from 5.5308/5374 and firmed against the euro to 4.5772/5816 from 4.5776/5830.
Bursa Malaysia opened higher, but retreated thereafter ahead of the release of Malaysia’s trade data for March later today, keeping investors on the sidelines.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 4.27 points to 1,584.74 from Friday’s close of 1,589.01.
The barometer index opened 2.63 points firmer at 1,591.64.
On the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 177 versus 144, while 232 counters were unchanged, 1,696 untraded, and 24 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 158.59 million worth RM72.06 million.
Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd, in a note today, said for the holiday-shortened week, the March external trade data are due to be released later today.
“The FBM KLCI is still in a transitory phase and the negative technical momentum is expected to weigh on the bellwether’s performance going forward,” it said.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said that while external risks remained in place, the reopening of borders should continue to bode well for the local economy, especially the aviation and consumer sectors.
“Investors should monitor China’s key economic data, which will be released today, and Malaysia’s inflation rate later this week to gauge Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) interest rate directions moving forward,” the firm said in a note.
On the commodity markets, it said crude oil traded above US$110 per barrel mark while the crude palm oil price was well supported above RM6,300 per tonne.
Among the heavyweights, both Maybank and Public Bank fell two sen to RM8.77 and RM4.65, respectively; Petronas Chemicals lost 10 sen to RM10.22, while Press Metal slid nine sen to RM6.43, and IHH Healthcare flat at RM6.40.
Of the actives, Cengild Medical rose 14 sen to 47 sen, Avillion added half-a-sen to 9.5 sen, OCR gained one sen to 12.5 sen, Techna-X flat at 9.5 sen, while Vortex slipped half-a-sen to 18.5 sen.
On the index board, FBMT 100 Index declined 27.35 points to 11,033.99, FBM Emas Index was 15.0 points easier at 11,398.70, FBM Emas Shariah Index contracted 6.83 points to 12,040.74, FBM 70 weakened 24.54 points to 13,756.81, and FBM ACE reduced 5.82 points to 5,780.68.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.54 of-a-point to 213.93, the Financial Services Index dipped 39.71 points to 16,596.29, while the Plantation Index bagged 33.38 points to 8,388.65. – Bernama, April 18, 2022
